In the first group match Richard and Emily’s teams faced-off, with the Midlands winning 4&3 in the 12-hole Matchplay Match. The Midlands Minigolf Club went on to defeat the Allstars team by two-holes, before losing to the Kent Hurricanes team 2&1. In the semi-finals the team lost to eventual champions, the Kent Spitfires, 2&1, before winning the 3rd/4th place play-off match against the Kent Hurricanes 3&2.

Following the defeat to the Midlands in their first match Cambridgeshire went on to lose against the Kent Hurricanes by one-hole. Following the opening two defeats the Cambridge Team went on to score wins against the Allstars 5&4, and 2&1 and beating the London Minigolf Club by one-hole in the 5th/6th place play-off match.

Friday, November 25, 2011

On Wednesday 23rd November 2011 I met up with old Dodgeball UK adversary 'Rowdy' Russell Fenner for a long-awaited rematch at the 18-hole Adventure Golf course at Watford TopGolf.

I've been visiting the course at TopGolf Watford since the 2nd of December 2006, when the course became the 8th ever played on me and Emily's Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. On this latest visit the first thing I noticed (after seeing the price increase to £6 a round) was the amount of changes and improvements that had been made to the course!

As well as new obstacles, the felt has been completely relaid so there are no patches or tears. Each hole has also had a sign put up and they all now carry names.

Photo: Hole 1 "Canoe Canyon"

In July 2010 I played the Watford Adventure Golf course three times and on each visit the course was different! The first of those visits on the 7th saw the course a little worn in places, but quite playable. On my visit on the 13th a lot of pieces of felt were missing!? Most noticeably on the tee-off areas! Instead of felt the area was bare concrete. On my visit on the 22nd the finishing touches had been made to the 'refurb', with new patches of felt over worn areas, aling with new tee-off areas of felt (which play incredibly slowly). But the course was in a sorry state and not much fun compared to how it had been.

So I was very pleased to see the improvements, both in the general look of the course and in the playability of it. Some new bunkers have been added, tricky rock obstacles put in place, and some of the holes have been extended and/or widened. To play the course now is very different indeed compared to 2010 and earlier this year.

Photo: Hole 2 "Ramp Rage"

Photo: A stone circle

Photo: The addition of two parallel planks add a new way to play your shots on this hole

Photo: Hole 7 "Pine Pass" has had an interesting change made to it. It used to be a great hole-in-one opportunity, however the rocks have been changed to block the path to the hole! A bit of practice and a nicely weighted shot could see Aces still drop, but it's not as easy as it used to be

Photo: Hole 13 "Cross Paths" has also been significantly changed with the addition of a third route to the hole. My shot made it to the smaller of the two entry points to the tunnel, but was slightly too strong a shot and lipped out when it reached the hole

Photo: The dogleg left Hole 15 has also been changed to now include a ramp & tunnel in the corner. Using a very bouncy standard course (golf) ball meant that the shot into it was not ideal. However, using a good specialist minigolf deadball may see a better result

Photo: A view of the exit ramp on Hole 15

Photo: Hole 18 "Pipe Dream"

Photo: Hole 18 "Pipe Dream" - the central obstacle

Photo: Hole 18 "Pipe Dream" - the last hole and ball collector

Photo: Hole 18 "Pipe Dream" - a view of the exit ramp from the main obstacle

In our match-up I scored a 44(+8) including holes-in-one on the 5th and 9th holes. 'Rowdy' Russell had a poor round though and scored a disappointing 55(+19), far worse than he normally plays as he usually gives me a good run for my money!

In order for 'Rowdy' Russell to attempt to gain a measure of revenge for his minigolf defeat we decided to have a game of Pool.

I broke.

And with my shot managed to pot the black in the middle left hand pocket. As well as potting a red in the top right hand corner pocket.

So 'Rowdy' left with a 'win'.

After our dismal performances in the Sportingbet.com UK RPS Championships last month we decided against having a Rock Paper Scissors contest to confirm an overall winner of the evening's activity and chose to call it a draw.

Photo: I noticed that Brown Tourist Signs in Scotland feature a Thistle in a blue oval, rather than being plain brown with white text and/or images

I found out by having a look in the visitors leaflet for Loch Lomond that the Maid of the Loch was the last Paddle Steamer to be built in Great Britain.

Launched on the Loch in 1953 the ship is officially now an historic ship and was placed on the "Designated Vessels List" (which recognises ships of "substantial heritage merit with regional and local significance") in 2004.

Unfortunately on my visit the ship was not open for viewing as it is closed during the winter and will reopen at Easter 2012.

Loch Lomond also has a shopping centre, Sea Life centre, a couple of Minigolf courses (which I didn't get to play on this visit), restaurants, play area and on my visit there was a farmer's market too.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

On my trip to Scotland last weekend we made a visit to Loch Lomond in Balloch, Dunbartonshire. While we were having a wander around my Minigolf-alert alarm went off again as I spotted a sign for a Crazy Golf course!

I was very pleased with my find, as I hadn't known a course was there before we visited.

Unfortunately when I enquired about playing the course at the newsagents that hires out the Putters and Balls I was told that the course had been taken up for the time being to make way for a Twister fairground ride!?

So, in a way it was good to have found another new Minigolf course, but it was unfortunate (but not entirely surprising considering my track record) of finding it to be unplayable on the day I visit!

While at the Loch Lomond shopping centre I had a look around the Antiques Centre and noticed on two old postcards that there was a Municipal Putting Course on the seafront at nearby Helensburgh in what looked to be the 1930's. After a web search I found that there is another Putting Green at Hermitage Park in Helensburgh.

Australia’s Allan Cox victorious in battle to win Putter King Title, Pat Sheridan of the USA third

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried has finished as the runner-up in the Putter King’s international Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt. The two-month long competition ended in a draw on the 1st of November with Richard, 31, tied for first place with Australia’s Allan Cox, 50. The overall winner was decided on the 13th November as the votes cast for the best Minigolf Trick Shot submitted to the contest were counted, with Allan Cox winning with 212 votes to Richard’s 89.

The 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt took place on Miniature Golf courses worldwide and people were invited to track down and record items and achievements related to all forms of Minigolf.

Photo: Richard Gottfried & Putty, the Putter King Mascot

17 tasks were set, with some activities also carrying bonus points. Altogether Richard managed to complete 15 of the 17 tasks scoring a total of 820 points. The activities in the 2011 Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt had the players designing new holes, playing new courses, showing off their minigolf ball collections, (re)learning Maths & Physics (in a fun way) through the Putter King Education Programme, doing arts & crafts, autograph hunting, scoring holes-in-one, creating minigolf trick shots and a whole lot more!

In total, there were 1,370 available points. Allan Cox (AUS) won the competition with 960 total points. Richard Gottfried (UK) finished in second place with 900 total points and Patrick Sheridan (USA) finished in 3rd place with 585 total points.

Richard said “Congratulations to Allan Cox for winning the Putter King Miniature Scavenger Hunt with his great minigolf trick shot and many thanks to the Putter King team for organising such a brilliant contest, I dread to think what lengths they’ll have us going to in next year’s contest!”

Richard Gottfried is a British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour Pro, Great Britain International Minigolfer & a member of the 2008 BMGA British Club Champions – the Midlands Minigolf Club. He has also won the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Open, Weymouth Open, and is a two-time Manchester Mini Major Champion. He and his wife/Coach/Opponent and sometimes team-mate Emily have played over 400 Crazy Golf and Minigolf courses on their Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. They are currently writing a book about their travels.

Monday, November 07, 2011

Luton’s Richard Gottfried tied with Australia’s Allan Cox in battle to win Putter King Title

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried is looking for help in order to win an international Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt organised by the Putter King Minigolf franchise in Japan. The two-month long competition ended in a draw on the 1st of November with Richard, 31, tied for first place with Australia’s Allan Cox, 50. But a clear overall winner still needs to be decided, and your vote could count!

Richard filmed his minigolf trick shot, which involved him scoring a hole-in-one while wearing a Blindfold at Tea Green Golf Club, Wandon End, near Luton. You can find the two minigolf trick shots on the Putter King Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/putterking where you can also vote for the one you’d like to win.

Richard said “The Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt has been a great event and it’s unbelievable that the final is so close. The Hunt has been a truly international competition and I never thought it’d come down to a battle between a Brit against an Aussie to win a Japanese Minigolf contest with an American in third place! We’re definitely Crazy Golfers with the lengths we’ve gone to win.”

USA Minigolf rival Pat Sheridan, of The Putting Penguin Minigolf Team was the bronze medallist in the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt with a very impressive haul of 585 points. Rival finalist Allan Cox is a Putt Putt Minigolf Pro and plays for the Ermington Putters Club in Sydney, Australia.

Photo: Great Britain's Richard Gottfried with Putty, the Putter King Mascot!

Richard is a British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour Pro, Great Britain International Minigolfer & a member of the 2008 BMGA British Club Champions – the Midlands Minigolf Club. He has also won the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Open, Weymouth Open, and is a two-time Manchester Mini Major Champion. He and his wife/Coach/Opponent and sometimes team-mate Emily have visited over 400 Crazy Golf and Minigolf courses on their Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. They are currently writing a book about their travels.

Photo: Emily Gottfried with the certificate for being the "Worst Bowler Ever"! Her scores of 80 and 96 weren't that bad!

EcoStyle promotes awareness and understanding of renewable energy technologies. They design and manufacture demonstration models to teach renewable energy in schools and colleges, or for use as marketing tools within industry.

Sunday, November 06, 2011

In addition to the Worlds £2 Tat Challenge taking place at The Buttons on Saturday 29th October 2011, the venue also saw the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships take place amongst a group of twelve Crazy Golfers, with a new champion guaranteed to be crowned following a no-show by 2010 Champ Kevin 'AWOL' Moseley!

In a thrilling final Wales' Peter 'The Puckmaster' Jones defeated England's Phil Exall 7-3 to take the title he's waited a whole year to get his hands on.

The final saw last year's defeated finalist Peter Jones facing-off against Phil Exall to decide the ultimate champion at the event, with Peter Jones coming out the winner with a 7-3 victory, with a minute still remaining on the clock!

Saturday, November 05, 2011

Results of the 2011 'Worlds £2 Tat Challenge' at the Old Town Amusements in Hastings

Following the completion of the first day's play in the 2011 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships a group of Seaside Amusements fans made the now traditional and ceremonial walk to The Old Town Amusement Arcade to compete in the second-annual '£2 Tat Challenge'.

Photo: Vice-Chairman of the PTA Scott Lancley runs through the rules of the £2 Tat Challenge

This Amusements Challenge Tournament saw a total of 26 participants compete for the title on Saturday 29th October 2011. The field was double that of the 2010 event when ‘Johnson’ Paul Johnson took the win with a haul of nine pieces of tat. This year the title was not to be Paul Johnson’s again, as the man now known as Paul ‘Johnson Paul Johnson’ Johnson only managed to win one bit of tat with his stake money.

Photo: Defending champion Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson crashes out of the 2011 £2 Tat Challenge with just one piece of tat. Note Jam Trubridge continuing to play-on in his debut Tat Challenge

The brains behind the £2 Tat Challenge are Scott ‘Donkey Gringo’ Lancley (the International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Champion) and Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried. The rules of the £2 Tat Challenge are simple – the aim is to win the most amount of 2p falls prizes with a stake of £2. The overall winner then gets to bag up all of the tat as their prize!

The 2011 Honours went to newcomer and junior Polly who managed to bag a grand total of eleven pieces of tat with her £2!

Photo: New Worlds £2 Tat Challenge Champion Polly receives her prize of all the tat. Last year's Champion Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson manages to get in on the photo

In total 127 pieces of tat were won this year with the players spending £52 in total to compete. In the 2010 event the thirteen players won 36 pieces of tat between them.

Photo: The motley crew of Tatters, Ratters and Sharks assemble for the obligatory Group Photo at the 2011 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge Competition

Photo: Peter 'Toy Jeep' Jones having a rare old time at the amusements

Photo: From l-r Tat Challenge Rookie Trevor Exall and last year's loser Marc Chapman wait for the prize to drop. Chapman managed to win three pieces of tat this year, beating his total haul of zero last year

Photo: Denis 'I'll bring the bell' Exall pumps the 2p pusher full of money. His tactic and motto was simple - "It's quality of the prizes, not quantity that counts." Not in this game it's not Den ;-)

Following the inaugural £2 Tat Challenge in Hastings last October there were also two tat Challenges in May 2011 which saw Richard Gottfried and Alan Norman crowned as interim champions. Controversially Alan subsequently exchanged 37 pieces of Tat from the overall winner’s swag-bag that he won for one Pingu Teddy Bear that he promptly called 'Penny'!?